Legions Of Gotham has teamed with Dc Comics to bring you the exclusive reveal of 2 character pages that contain art and give a brief historical synopsis of the Justice Society, Robin and Huntress—and will be running in CONVERGENCE: DETECTIVE COMICS #1 written by Brian Buccellato with art by Phil Winslade on sale April 29. Enjoy!

You may remember Adewale from LOST or the Mummy Returns. We have word he will be Killer Croc in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, which will no doubt be epic with villains like Croc, Joker and Harley Quinn!

We could see a Croc very similar to the comic book Azarello/Bermejo Croc (see pic above). The film is due out in Summer of 2016!

Monday, March 23, 2015

From Rocksteady: Batman: Arkham Knight will now launch worldwide on June 23, 2015. We're a developer that hates to make any compromises, so we are sorry to say this means it's going to be just a little bit longer until you can play the epic conclusion to the Arkham trilogy. As a reward for your patience and understanding, and to make the wait even more unbearable, we are pleased to whet your appetite with a new gameplay video of Batman: Arkham Knight.

In recent weeks a controversy has arisen in the comic book fan community over a variant cover to Batgirl #41 that pays homage to the fan-favorite 1988 Batman one-shot graphic novel, Batman: The Killing Joke.
The story has been picked up by national media outlets and some comic
book fans may be wondering why this cover is such a big deal. The idea
that this is an issue of censorship has been thrown around, as has a
huge movement by the predominantly male comic book community to pressure
DC Comics into releasing the cover as scheduled. The request to not
release this cover actually came directly from the artist, Rafael
Albuquerque. We aren't talking about any violations of free speech or
censorship here -- neither of those would qualify in this instance. We
are looking at a private company that opted not to release a comic book
cover that they commissioned to be created, based on sensitivity to the
public. It has been incorrectly cited in the media that death threats
were going around, but just to be clear, those threats were actually
against those that were objecting to the cover being released. The fact
that DC Comics agreed to cancel this cover is a very, very good
thing...and here's why.

Consider the idea that a major
mainstream entertainment company like DC Comics has a comic book that
showcases sexual assault and a new comic book cover that actually pulls
that part of the comic book out to glorify and tribute the incident.
Nearly half of all comic book readership, over 46% in fact, is actually
female. Couple that with the fact that at least one in five females has
or will been sexually assaulted in their lifetime and certainly a
greater number are sensitive to including excessive amounts of it in
their chosen forms of entertainment. That doesn't even count he number
of males that aren't fans of sexual assault as a form of enertainment
and you risk alienating a large part of your audience. The Killing Joke
was certainly a dark and edgy book that was released at a time when
that type of content what young male comic book fans were craving. This
comic book was the first mainstream exposure that many readers had to
not only darker themes, but a real mingling of sexuality and violence.

The Killing Joke spends some time giving us an origin story for the
Joker, something that many fans had never been exposed to at that time.
We were woven the tale of a failed, desperate comedian and his pregnant
wife. He gets in too deep with some criminal types and bad things
happen. This part of the story is a nod to the retro 1951 Detective Comics
#168 story, "The Man Behind the Red Hood". The story goes on to show
the daughter of Commissioner Gordon, and Batgirl herself, Barbara Gordon
answer her door to the Clown Prince of Crime. The Joker is whimsically
dressed in snazzy vacation attire, complete with a hawiian shirt,
shorts that show his pasty legs and a camera around his neck. The Joker
wastes no time in shooting Barbara right in the stomach, paralyzing her
instantly. We are then shown the Joker undressing her in a very
menacing manner and later learn that he has snapped photographs of her
in some compromised state. This is where the story gets a bit fuzzy.

There
is a lot of intense debate amongst fans about whether the Joker
injures, humiliates and sexually assults Barbara or if he actually
full-on rapes her. On one hand it wouldn't be beyond author Alan Moore
to go all the way with this, as he did feature rape in his 1986 comic
book series The Watchmen. Oh, and again in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (yes, the one they made the movie off of) volumes I and II AND The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 1969, AND AGAIN in Miracle Man AND again in Lost Girls AND the near rape of Evie in V for Vendetta
(yes, again the one they made a movie off of!). Alan Moore is no doubt
marketable and highly sucessful as a writer, no one disputes this. His
stories have a trend of taking off in the mainstream, which he often
comments about loathing, but he clearly has a strong recurring theme of
rape in his work.

Grant Morrison, a current big name writer at DC Comics, told Rolling
Stone's Brian Hiatt in a 2011 interview that "I was reading some Alan
Moore Marvelman for some reason today. I found one in the back
there and I couldn't believe. I pick it up and there are fucking two
rapes in it and I suddenly think how many times has somebody been raped
in an Alan Moore story? And I couldn't find a single one where someone
wasn't raped except for Tom Strong, which I believe was a pastiche. We
know Alan Moore isn't a misogynist but fuck, he's obsessed with rape. I
managed to do thirty years in comics without any rape!" Well said Grant.
There are still many comic fans that will assert that Barbara wasn't
not raped, simply paralized, stripped nude, photographed and humiliated.
Oh, and her father was also stripped naked by BDSM-gear sporting
midgets and forced to view the photos. Well, thats a relief! I was
worried that the content could somehow be misconstrued as inappropriate.
The Joker isn't a typically sexualized character. The fact is that rape
isn't a crime of sex, but rather one of power and control, so in that
way it could fall into the Joker's character.

Batman, who has remained basically emotionless to the pain and suffering of his dear friends throughout the Killing Joke
story, corners the Joker in an alleyway and beats the tar out of him.
Readers are left with a bloody and battered Joker standing face to face
with the Batman in the rain. The Joker tells Bats a joke and begins to
laugh. Then, out of nowhere Batman himself begins to chuckle and the two
share a good laugh together before the Joker is carted away again to
Arkham Asylum. To say that this scene disturbing is a vast
understatement. Not only is the Joker a murderer of hundreds or even
thousands of innocent people prior to these events, including Robin
(Jason Todd), but he goes so far as to assault Barbara and James
Gordon...and the Batman shares a laugh with him? This shows that perhaps
the Batman feels some sort of twisted connection to the Joker, even
more so than the Gordons. Two people, their veiled personas born from
misery. They know death, they know torment, but they deal with it in
very different ways. This certainly isn't the way their relationship is
always portrayed. I remember reading the story as a ten year old
boy...looking up and thinking to myself "Oh, holy shit did the Joker
just rape Batgirl?!...and Batman doesn't even care?!" I'm supposed to
see this man as a hero and I'm sorry, but as a son, brother, husband,
father and a man I just can't fathom this reaction. Alan Moore took the
soul out of Batman

This leads me to the core of my real issue with The Killing Joke.
I believe in comic books as not only an art form and amazing story
telling medium, but also one that can reflect real-life
issues...hopefully to teach us all something in the process. That being
said, a story about key character going through something like rape
would have been a wonderful chance to teach the young male readers that
this wasn't a violatio that should be tolerated. We could have been
taught as readers that rape was a horror and a humiliation that no
person should have to endure and perhaps instill readers with some level
of compassion and even an anger against sexual crimes. Unfortunately,
that wasn't the moral of this story. Batman just didn't care. Bruce
Wayne watched his parents gunned down before his very eyes, an act that
would have torn his feeling of security away as a child. It would have
taken his safety and his power, something he had to go to the lengths of
becoming the Batman to get back! These same feelings can often happen
to a woman when she is sexually assulated, so you'd think of all people
the Batman would understand. Does Batman come to the aid of Barbara and
Jim? No. Does Batman finally cross the line and end the Joker's life?
No. Batman gives the Joker a fat lip and then laughs it out. Silly
Joker...there he goes rapin' again!

The Killing Joke was released in 1988. Whats done is done, but now this new variant Batgirl
cover showcases a helpless Batgirl with the Joker painting a smile on
her face in blood, while wearing his outfit from the Killing Joke. The
Killing Joke is not a classic, its not a story to be revered. Its a huge
festering sore on the history of Batman...a blight that should be
erased, certainly not homaged. Bravo to DC Comics for reconsidering this
cover. After all, when Alan Moore wanted to cripple Barbara back in the
1980s the editorial decision handed down was literally "Cripple the
bitch". Hopefully moves like this will show misogynists everywhere that
some of us love women, and I believe that the Batman character that I
know and love does too. I would ask those that object to this move to go
back and with a clear mind re-read this story and really analyze if
this is the reaction you want from your Batman and if this story should
still hold up as a classic amongst the fans.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Mr. Freeze is one of the most enigmatic and emotional villains in the Batman's rogues gallery. Orginally dubbed 'Mr. Zero' when he was first introduced to comic book fans back in 1959. His appearances on the 1966 Batman television show altered his name forever to Mr. Freeze! The real birth of this once one-dimensional character, however, came in the Batman cartoons. Legions of Gotham will now countdown the top five animated appearances of the tragic Dr. Victor Fries!

5. Young Justice The Young Justice cartoon ended too quickly after just two seasons, but Batman fans were treated to a few appearances by the king of cold before it was done! Mr. Freeze appeared in three episodes of the popular series, voiced by Keith Szarabajka. This beefed up older version of Freeze was captured by Batman and Robin and transported back to Arkham Asylum, and later transfered to Belle Reve Penitentiary after being declared legally sane. It was in prison where Freeze managed to cause more trouble by helping to organize a mass breakout.

4. Future Freeze We got a rare animated peek into the future in the season four episode of 'The Batman', titled Artifacts. We're transported a thousand years into the future of Gotham City and Mr. Freeze has managed to emerge and it terrorizing the citizens of the future! The police are desperately trying to comb through the archives they can find in the old rubble of the Batcave to see how Batman last defeated his foe, since any trace of the Batman legacy is long dead. We get a cool flashback scene to 2027 where we see Batman facing this cool future freeze. Freeze has now been reduced to a torso with robot legs and is in a giant super-mech suit. The voice duties are still being performed by The Batman's Clancy Brown.

3. The New Batman Adventures When Batman: the Animated Series got its design overall to become The New Batman Adventures, one of the villains that went through the most changes was ol' Mr Freeze. He remained voiced with the dry, emotionless delivery of Michael Ansara, but the character himself went through intense physical changes. Mr. Freeze's condition has become too unstable, so he has resorted to being just a head under glass that has mechanical spider legs attached. Freeze is able to climb inside of a robot body and appear somewhat normal, with enhanced strength and agility, a useful tool when facing the Bat-Family!

2. Batman Beyond Mr. Freeze Decades in the future Mr. Freeze's head is alive and well in the laboratories of Wayne-Powers! Derek Powers (aka Blight) has been keeping it there, having research done to cure his affliction. A bright young scientist comes up with a procedure that helps Freeze become mobie again with a new cryogenic suit. Mr. Freeze decides to use his powers for good, but the aged Bruce Wayne isn't buying it. He has Batman Beyond watch over Freeze, and he soon turns back to a life of crime. This version of Mr. Freeze was voiced again by Michael Ansara, keeping consistant throughout all three Timmverse incarnations of the character.

1. Batman: The Animated Series Mr. Freeze The definitive characterization of Mr. Freeze happens in his debut Batman: The Animated Series episode, titled Heart Of Ice, for which the writers won an Emmy! Freeze is voiced in a dry and menacing tone by the great Michael Ansara. We had previously only seen Mr. Freeze as a one-dimensional animated character in the two Filmation Batman cartoons. This go around they took Mr. Freeze and made him arguably he most sympathetic and emotional villain in Batman's rogues gallery. The plight of the devoted husband, his mind twisted by the loss of his beloved wife is one that resonated deeply to the audiences of all ages. It is unlikely that without this version of him that we'd even be discussing the character at all. This will likely remain the definitive animated, and all around, version of Mr. Freeze.

Honorable Mention: The Batman The first time a non-Bruce Timm helmed animated Batman show hit the air since 1992 was when Jeff Matsuda's vision for the Dark Knight, called The Batman, premiered in 2004. The progressive and unique new designs were a welcome treat to Bat-Fans young and old. Mr. Freeze was voiced by the gravely and dark stylings of Clancy Brown, previously known to fans as the voice of Lex Luthor in the Justice League series. The Batman ended up lasting for a five season run.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Here are packaged pictures of the upcoming Icon Heroes Batman: Arkham Knight Batarang Letter Opener, due out in May.

"You’ve just received the final clue in the Riddler’s latest larcenous plot… but how to open it without triggering any booby traps the felonious fiend may have secreted inside? Reach for your utility belt and withdraw the Arkham Knight Batarang Letter Opener! Based on the actual 3-D files from the newest Arkham Knight blockbuster, this lightweight metal replica measures 7”L x 2”W x 0.4”H With this piece of the Arkham arsenal on your desk, they’ll be no doubt in your office who owns the night!"

Friday, March 13, 2015

Batman scribe Scott Snyder is moving forward with a risky and unique set of tales that he has wanted to do for some time in the realm of Batman. The stories are out of continuity, so this won't be a permanent change, but starting in Batman #41 we'll see Batman's new robot suit. We don't know why or for what purpose just yet, but online speculation is flowing. The only criticism I have prior to reading is that the ears make it look like a robot bunny suit, rather than a bat. What do you think Bat-Fans?

The costume for Supergirl was designed by three-time Oscar® winner Colleen Atwood, who also designed the costumes for THE FLASH & ARROW and whose motion picture credits include Academy Awards® for her work on Alice in Wonderland, Memoirs of a Geisha and Chicago, as well as eight additional Oscar® nominations for films such as Into the Woods, Snow White and the Huntsman, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Sleepy Hollow, among others

Colleen Atwood said, “In designing Supergirl, I wanted to embrace the past, but more importantly, thrust her into the street-style action hero of today.”

Production begins on the SUPERGIRL pilot this week

Born on the planet Krypton, Kara Zor-El escaped amid its destruction years ago. Since arriving on Earth, she’s been hiding the powers she shares with her famous cousin. But now at age 24, she decides to embrace her superhuman abilities and become the hero she was destined to be.